WASHINGTON- Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito joined colleagues in the courtroom for the first time Thursday, just for show, before the real work begins next week on issues including abortion, presidential wartime powers and the environment.
Less than a handful will likely be picked for oral arguments.
Next week, the court will announce the new batch of cases for argument sessions and hear arguments Tuesday in three cases involving government regulations under the Clean Water Act.
Earlier this week, the Bush administration renewed its request that the court agree to consider reinstating a federal ban on a type of late term abortion. Three appeals courts have ruled that the 2003 law is unconstitutional. It prohibits what abortion foes call partial-birth abortion. The Bush administration's appeal is one of the cases on Friday's list.
Also on the list is an appeal from a terrorism suspect, Jose Padilla, who wants the court to use his case to clarify the president's authority to detain enemy combatants.
Alito, 55, had already been on the job two weeks and been sworn in twice.
Thursday's oath was largely ceremonial, and President Bush and Justice John Paul Stevens skipped the four-minute event. Stevens, the leader of the liberal wing, was out of town.
Alito was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts, another Bush nominee, who wished him "a long and happy career in our common calling."
Alito then took his place on the bench, in the far-right seat, when facing the court, reserved for the most junior member. Alito looked uncomfortable as he settled into his black leather chair, next to the diminutive Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but he smiled later for pictures outside the court.
"The pomp and circumstance is pretty short-lived," Stephen McAllister, a law professor at the University of Kansas who clerked for then-new Justice Clarence Thomas, said. "The other justices are kind and friendly, but they are not going to hold your hand and they are not going to wait around. There's no grace period, or transition."
Alito replaced Sandra Day O'Connor, 75, who retired to spend more time with her family. She did not attend Thursday's ceremony. Watching from the front row was Harriet Miers, who last fall withdrew her nomination for O'Connor's seat.
The members of the court sat in a new lineup on the bench. Justices have seats based on seniority. Justice Antonin Scalia now has O'Connor's seat next to the chief justice.
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